Artist repairs pottery, spirits of Noto quake-stricken people

Broken shards of pottery were illuminated by the soft sunlight shining through the window at the workshop of artist Kunio Nakamura, 52, in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, when I visited him in early March.

The pottery had been broken during the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. Teacups,

vases, jars and other items that were used by people living in the affected areas are awaiting the day they could be restored.

Nakamura is not just an artist, but also a craftsman who restores broken pottery. Using the traditional Japanese technique of kintsugi, in which broken vessels are glued back together with lacquer then decorated with gold powder, he brings the pottery back to life.

Nakamura himself was affected by the major earthquake on Jan. 1. It was just last year he started dividing his time between the peninsula and Tokyo after purchasing traditional Japanese-style houses in Wajima and Suzu, both in Ishikawa Prefecture, to use as his home and workshop. Nakamura had long dreamed of living in the area where Wajima lacquerware craftsmen live and work.

He was in Tokyo when the earthquake struck, but his two home-cum-workshops were completely or partially destroyed. However, Nakamura was more concerned about the people in the affected areas than the damage he had suffered.

“I thought, I want to use my kintsugi skills to do what I can for the people in the affected areas,” Nakamura said.

In mid-January, he posted on social media that he will repair pottery broken in the quake for free, and broken vessels began arriving at his workshop from various places. For those living in areas where it is difficult to send him shards by mail, Nakamura went to the areas to receive them.

Kunio Nakamura examines a vessel that was broken during the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. He is preparing to restore it using the kintsugi technique at his workshop in Suginami Ward, Tokyo.

By the time I visited, Nakamura said he already had about 30 requests. Whenever possible, Nakamura uses materials produced in the Hokuriku region for kintsugi work, such as diatomaceous earth from Suzu and gold powder from a manufacturer in Kanazawa. “I think everyone has a dish or plate that they cannot throw away,” Nakamura said as he carefully put pottery pieces together. “I hope giving pottery a new life will help quake-stricken people to become forward-looking, even if only a little."

Nakamura restores a cup with the kintsugi technique using materials mainly from the Hokuriku region.

Nakamura reads a letter sent to him along with a broken pottery vessel.

A letter sent to Nakamura with a broken vessel

Yomiuri Shimbun photos